Meet a Member: Fireside Chat with Deb Brandon WARP (Weave a Real Peace) first aired July 9th, 2025 at 1pm MDT/ 3pm ET (online) Join us Wednesday, July 9th, for a special conversation with the extraordinary Deb Brandon—weaver, textile scholar, author, global traveler, and longtime WARP member! From leading WARP’s beloved “Textile Techniques from Around … Read more
Birth and Rebirth: Weaving Traditions of the Berber of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains Thread Talk, hosted by Handweaver’s Guild of America October 8th, 2024 Join Deb and the Handweavers Guild of America, Inc. in a Thread Talk. These talks feature creative makers who will inspire, surprise, and delight with their story. Each Thread Talk is no … Read more
As my first full draft of my book “Threads Around the World: From Arabian Weaving to Batik in Zimbabwe” neared completion, I started thinking of a second volume. I told myself that if the book was well received I’d write a second book.
The stories behind traditional textiles expose our commonalities—we have too much in common with each other to be divided into us and them, to be regarded as more or less. Stories allow us to acknowledge the person in each other.
Our conversations continue. He has been giving me a wealth of information about his community’s traditional products. I requested close-up videos of the weaving of the gudas. “I’ll ask my mom to take one.” She also sent a video of a cousin’s wedding, asking guests to wave at the camera.
Stories are inherent in traditional textiles, about the artisans and their communities, and about their cultures and traditions. Some of the stories are in the process, others are integrated in the designs, through figurative or geometric motifs. Though we usually associate stories with words, many are told through symbols or images, whether through hieroglyphics, geometric designs, or figurative imagery. Stories do not have to have a beginning, middle, and end, and they can take many forms, such as prose, dance, poetry, or even a list.